Are Liverpool, not Chelsea, Manchester City’s biggest title rivals?

By Oscar Maung-Haley

Jurgen Klopp’s men are in resurgent form this season following a testing campaign last year. But are they, and not Chelsea, Manchester City’s biggest Premier League title rival this season?

Reds on fire

Liverpool have started the season hot.

They lead the league in goals scored and their defence has been vastly improved by the return of Virgil Van Dijk.

At the moment, they head into any game looking as dangerous as ever in the Klopp era, while their defensive mishaps from last year seem to have finally ended.

They’ve scored at least three goals in five of their Premier League games this season and in Mohamed Salah, Liverpool have the hottest forward in world football at the moment.

So far this season, the Egyptian has scored seven goals in eight games in the Premier League, guiding Liverpool’s title challenge forward with a string of sensational performances.

In their win over Watford last weekend, he was in resplendent form, producing a finish that almost any footballer in world football would have gawped at.

Additionally, it looks as though Sadio Mane has finally rediscovered his best form too, with the Senegalese forward having scored five in eight in the Premier League so far, taking him to within six goals of last season’s tally.

If Salah and Mane can continue their hot streak, something you wouldn’t bet against on current form, Liverpool will undoubtedly resemble their title winning 19/20 side more than their 20/21 iteration.

There’s a fear factor that comes with Liverpool and when they’re in full flow, they’re both frightening and a delight to watch.

Stuttering Chelsea

There’s every chance Chelsea could win the title this season.

They have a dearth of options at almost every position. In reality, their squad is probably the only one in the Premier League that comes close to Manchester City’s.

They also currently occupy the top spot in the table.

But their last few league outings have been slightly concerning.

Against Brentford, in a game they won 1-0, they were comfortably the worse side, with Thomas Frank’s newly promoted outfit pushing them as far as they could.

An Edouard Mendy masterclass kept the Bees at bay, but had it not been for him, Chelsea would almost certainly have dropped points.

Against Southampton prior to the international break, they needed two late winners from Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell after the Saints had been reduced to 10 men to take all three points.

Against Manchester City, a week before, they didn’t register a single shot on target in a 1-0 loss.

Chelsea will almost certainly be in and around the top of the table come the end of the season, but there’s no guarantee they’ll sit top of the tree on the final day of Premier League action.

They’ve stuttered a bit in recent weeks and will need Lukaku, who hasn’t scored for the Blues since their 1-0 win over Zenit on September 14th, back in the goals to allay any title fears.

The African Cup of Nations problem

Liverpool’s squad has a host of big-name African players who will all almost certainly be involved in the upcoming African Cup of Nations.

Both Salah and Mane will miss games early in the new year due to the AFCON, which will test Liverpool’s attacking depth.

While a front-line featuring Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota is hardly a bargain bucket attack, losing both of their star wide forwards can’t help their title chances.

They will also most likely be without the services of Naby Keita, who will feature for Guinea but the drop-off in quality in their engine room isn’t quite as steep a fall.

Early 2022 will be a real test for the Reds. If they can come through unscathed, they should be in good shape to push on into the spring.

It should also be noted too that the AFCON will also impact Chelsea too, who will be without shot stopper Edouard Mendy.

Mendy has been in superb form this season, marshalling a backline that boast the joint-best defence in the league alongside Manchester City.

Kepa Arrizabalaga is not the worst back-up keeper to turn in the Senegalese keeper’s absence, but he has been prone to make a high-profile error every now and again.

Photo Credit: Getty Images